Work may apply to any purposeful activity.
R E F E R E N C E S
1 Work n [ME werk, work, fr. OE werc, weorc, akin to O HG werc, GK ergon, Av varezem activity] [bef. 12c] 1: activity in which one exerts strength or faculties to do or perform something: a: sustained physical or mental effort to overcome obstacles and achieve an objective or result b: the labor, task, or duty that is one's accustomed means of livelihood c: a specific task, duty, function or assignment often being a part or phase of some larger activity 2a: energy expended by natural phenomena b: the result of such energy [sand dunes are the __ of sea and wind] c: the transference of energy that is produced by the motion of the point of application of a force and is measured by multiplying the force and the displacement of its point of application in the line of action 3a: something that results from a particular manner or method of working, operating, or devising [careful police __] [clever camera __] b: something that results from the use of fashioning of a particular material [porcelain __] 4a: a fortified structure [as a fort, earthen barricade, or trench] b pl: structures in engineering [as docks, bridges, or embankments] or mining [as shafts or tunnels] 5 pl but sing or pl in constr: a place where industrial labor is carried on: Plant, Factory 6 pl: the working or moving parts of a mechanism [__s of a clock] 7a: something produced or accomplished by effort, exertion, or exercise of skill [this book is the __of many hands] b: something produced by the exercise of creative talent or expenditure of creative effort: artistic production 8 pl: performance of moral or religious acts [salvation by __s] 9a: effective operation: Effect, Result [wait for time to do its healing __] b: manner of working: Workmanship, Execution 10: the material or piece of material that is operated upon at any stage in the process of manufacture 11 pl a: everything possessed, available, or belonging [the whole __s, rod, reel, tackle box, went overboard] [ordered pizza with the __s] b: subjection to drastict reatment: all possible abuse -usu. used with get [get the __s] or give [gave them the __s] -at work 1: engaged in working: Busy; esp: engaged in one's regular occupation 2: having effect: operating, Functioning -in the works: in process of preparation, development, or completion -in work 1: in process of being done 2 of a horse: in training -out of work: without regular employment: Jobless
syn- Work, Labor, Travail, Toil, Drudgery, Grind mean activity involving effort or exertion. Work may imply activity of body, or mind, of a machine, or of a natural force [Too tired to do any work]. Labor applies to physical or intellectual work involving great and often strenuous exertion [farmers demanding fair compensation for their labor]. Travail is bookish for labor involving pain or suffering [years of travail were lost when the house burned]. Toil implies prolonged and fatiguing labor [his lot would be yars of back-breaking toil]. Drudgery suggests dull and irksome labor [an editorial job with a good deal of drudgery]. Grind implies labor exhausting to mind or body [the grind of the assembly line]
syn- Work, Employment, Occupation, Calling, Pursuit, Métier, Business mean a specific sustained activity engaged in esp. in earning one's living. Work may apply to any purposeful activity whether remunerative or not [her work as a hospital volunteer]. Employment implies work for which one has been engaged and is beng paid by an employer [your employment with this firm is hereby terminated]. Occupation implies work in which one engages regularly esp. as a result of training [his occupation as a trained auto mechanic]. Calling applies to an occupation viewed as a vocation or profession [the ministry seemed my true calling]. Pursuit suggests a trade, profession, or avocation followed with zeal or steady interest [ her family considered medicine the only proper pursuit]. Métier implies a calling or pursuit for which one believes oneself to be esp. fitted [ acting was my one and only métier]. Business suggests activity in commerce or the management of money and affairs [the business of managing a hotel].
3 work vb worked.... vt [bef. 12c] 1: to bring to pass: Effect [__ miracles] 2a: to fashion or create a useful or desired product by expending labor or exertion on: Forge, Shape [__ flint into tools] b: to make or decorate with needlework; esp: Embroider 3a: to prepare for use by stirring or kneading b: to bring into a desired form by a gradual process of cutting, hammering, scraping, pressing, or stretching [__ cold steel] 4: to set or keep in motion, operation, or activity: cause to operate or produce [a pump __ed by hand] [__ farmland] 5: to solve [a problem] by reasoning or calculation -often used with out 6a: to cause to toil or labor [__ed their horses nearly to death] b: to make use of: Exploit c: to control or guide the operation of [switches are __ed from a central tower] 7a: to carry on an operation or perform a job through, at, in, or along [the salespeople __ed both sides of the street] [a sportscaster hired to __ the game] b: to greet and talk with in a friendly way in order to ingratiate oneself or achieve a purpose [politicians --ing the crowd] [__ed the room] 8: to pay for or achieve with labor or service [__ed my way through college] [__ed my way up in the company] 9a: to get [oneself or an object] into or out of a cnodition or position by gradual stages b: Contrive, Arrange [we can __it so that you can take your vacation] 10a: to practice trickery or cajolery on for some end [__ed the mangement for a free ticket] b: Excite, Provoke [__ed myself into a rage] -vi 1a: to exert oneself physically or mentally esp. in sustained effort for a purpose or under compulsion or necessity b: to perform or carry through a task requiring sustained effort or continuous repeated operations [__ed all day over a hot stove] c: to perform work or fulfill duties regularly for wages or salery 2: to function or operate according to plan or design [hinges __ better with oil] 3: to exert an influence or tendency 4: to produce a desired effect or result: Succeed 5a: to make way slowly and with difficulty: move or progress laboriously [__ed up to the presidency] b: to sail to windward 6: to permit of being worked: react in a specified way to being worked [this wood __s easily] 7a: to be in agitation or restless motion b: Ferment1 c: to move slightly in relation to another part d: to get into a specified condition by slow or imperceptible movements [the knot __ed loose] work on 1: Affect [worked on my sympathies] 2: to strive to influence or persuade -work upon: to have effect upon: operate on: Influence
[Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 10th Edition. Springfield, MA, USA: Merriam-Webster, Inc. 1995.]
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